Daily dose of improvement works for Tavon Wilson

Adam KurkjianSunday, July 29, 2012

Credit: John Wilcox

ON THE RUN: Tavon Wilson sprints downfield during a play at training camp yesterday at Gillette Stadium.

FOXBORO — When Patriots rookie defensive back Tavon Wilson’s name was called at the time the 48th overall pick was announced at April’s NFL draft, the shuffling through scouting notes by the talking heads everywhere was almost audible.

A selection that no one had slated to go in the second round other than the team that picked him, Wilson was immediately labeled as a reach pick, a player whom the Patriots may have liked but someone they could have easily snared in a later round. In the eyes of both the draft experts and fans, the University of Illinois product represented a huge question mark.

But if that collective sentiment acted as any motivation for Wilson coming into training camp, he did an excellent job yesterday of deflecting such thoughts. Over and over, the 6-foot, 200-pounder who got most of his reps in the opening days of camp as the third safety reiterated that improvement is the goal, not proving others wrong.

“I just try to come out here and be the best player I can be and get better every day, just try and contribute to my team the best way I can,” Wilson said. “You know, I can’t really worry about what no one else (says).

“I’ve just got to come out here and be the best player I can be.”

With the Illini, Wilson played both cornerback and safety, showing the versatility that the Patriots seemingly covet in all their draft picks. So far, while he hasn’t stuck out by making any spectacular plays, Wilson also hasn’t done so by getting beat or looking out of position.

If he was considered such a reach on draft day, he hasn’t looked like one so far. Part of that is due to Wilson being as diligent with his mental preparation as his physical approach to the pro game.

“You’ve just got to attack the playbook just like you attack the field,” he said. “You’ve got to be in your book as much as you can, like all the time, so you can be the best player you can be and you can be comfortable out there.”

The NFL veterans in the secondary have also helped Wilson get comfortable.

“He’s great,” safety Steve Gregory, entering his seventh year in the league but first with the Pats, said of Wilson. “He’s a good football player. We’re all trying to learn the system together and play together. We’re getting to know each other and learning to play together. It’s going well.”

There is a developing kinship between Wilson and the other rookies.

“We got in touch with text messages pretty quickly (after the draft),” defensive end Jake Bequette said. “It was very exciting for all of us to be picked in the draft, just be a part of this. Just to come out here in training camp and work with guys like that — Chandler (Jones), Dont’a (Hightower), Alfonzo (Dennard), Tavon, all the guys. It’s just fun to get out here and go to work.”

And at this point, that’s all Wilson seems focused on, and not what any draftnik had to say about how he got here.

“I think everybody on our team has made the transition go easier for us,” Wilson said. “Everyone on our team sticks together. We expect a lot out of each other, so we just try to come out here and get better every day.”